imitate
v.to copy the way someone speaks, moves, or behaves. You often do this to be funny or to learn a new skill.
v.to copy or mimic the actions, appearance, or speech of another. Often implies a conscious effort to reproduce specific characteristics for entertainment or instruction.
“He likes to imitate his favorite movie stars.”
“Young children often imitate their parents' behavior as a way of learning how to interact with the world.”
“The comedian's ability to imitate the subtle vocal inflections of political leaders made his satire particularly effective and popular with audiences.”
The verb is transitive and requires a direct object.
Imitate is a transitive verb and does not take the preposition 'to' before the object.
Borrowed from Latin imitātus, perfect active participle of imitor (“to copy, portray, imitate”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Cognate with French imiter.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.